Neil deGrasse Tyson To Flat Earth Believers: ‘That’s OK, As Long As You Don’t Run NASA’

In his show StarTalk, Neil deGrasse Tyson cited evidence proving the Earth is spherical not flat.

In his show StarTalk, Neil deGrasse Tyson cited evidence proving the Earth is spherical not flat.

Neil deGrasse Tyson took a stand against the flat Earth society in the most recent video in the StarTalk channel on YouTube. While conversing with Chuck Nice, a comedian, deGrasse Tyson pointed out evidence that the Earth is round.

Nice tried to open the conversation about the shape of the earth with a simple question directed to deGrasse Tyson if the Earth is flat. He had a quick response to Nice’s question.

“We have video from space of the rotating, spherical Earth. The Earth is round.”

Nice thanked his co-host and pretended to wrap up the show. Of course, DeGrasse Tyson was quick to continue the flow of conversation. He immediately launched into an explanation of why the Earth is round, and not flat as some people believe. Most of the content of the nine-minute Startalk episode is based on Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, deGrasse Tyson’s newly released book.

Almost Everything In The Universe Is Spherical

Neil launched on a detailed explanation of how energy and physics work. When forming planets and other heavenly bodies, the universe favors the spherical shape. In fact, almost everything in the universe has a spherical or nearly spherical shape, according to him.

As noted by Space, deGrasse Tyson did not address why asteroids have irregular shapes. However, modern science has an explanation of why these bodies of floating ice and rock are not spherical. The gravity on asteroids is too low that they don’t meet the spherical shape.

DeGrasse Tyson also pointed out to the shadow of the Earth during a lunar eclipse. When the moon is directly opposite the sun, the Earth’s shadow is always round, and it has never been flat, Neil continues. He also referred to how ships tend to disappear in the horizon as another proof of the Earth’s spherical shape.

On Flat Earthers And Why They Exist

While discussing the proof behind the shape of the planet, deGrasse Tyson also addressed the rise in the members of the Flat Earth Society.

He expressed just how odd he thinks the Flat Earth theorists are. They believe the moon, the sun, and the rest of the planets are spherical but the Earth is flat. He added that “something doesn’t square here.”

The StarTalk host also has an explanation on why more people are believing in the theory that the Earth is flat.

“For me, the fact that there’s a rise of flat-Earthers is evidence of two things. One, we live in a country that protects free speech. And, two, we live in a country with a failed educational system. Our system needs to train you not only what to know but how to think about information and knowledge and evidence. If we don’t have that kind of training, you’d run around believing anything.”